1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to coverings for architectural openings such as doors, windows and the like, and more particularly to a control system for a covering having a plurality of vertically suspended vanes that are moveable between extended and retracted positions as well as open and closed positions to control visibility and the passage of light through the architectural opening.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Covers for architectural openings such as doors, windows and the like have been known in various forms for many years. One form of such covering is commonly referred to as a vertical vane covering wherein a control system suspends and is operable to selectively manipulate a plurality of vertically suspended vanes such that the vanes can be moved laterally across the architectural opening to extend or retract the covering and pivoted about longitudinal vertical axes to open and close the vanes.
Control systems for operating vertical vane coverings typically include a headrail in which a plurality of carriers associated with each vane are movably mounted for lateral movement and include internal mechanisms for pivoting the vanes about their vertical axes. The headrails vary in construction and configuration to house the various types of carriers but typically the headrails are relatively large in cross-section to enclose the working components of the system and have a slot along a bottom or side wall through which a portion of each carrier protrudes for connection to an associated vane.
An example of a control system wherein a headrail includes a slot along a side thereof through which a portion of the carriers protrudes is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,955 issued to Kaucic on Jan. 17, 1984. One problem with headrails having a slot in the side thereof resides in the fact that the slot is visible in the room in which the system is mounted and therefore is aesthetically unattractive.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,179 issued to Benthin on Nov. 30, 1982 discloses a headrail having an opening through the top thereof so as to improve the aesthetics of the headrail. The primary components of each carrier in the system are confined within the interior of the headrail and generally C-shaped hangers associated with each carrier circumscribe the headrail so as to be in a position to support an associated vane from beneath the headrail. The Benthin patent accordingly acknowledges the desire of having the opening in the headrail concealed from normal view. The drawback with a system of the type disclosed in the Benthin patent resides in the fact that a majority of the working components of each carrier is confined within the headrail thereby necessitating a headrail with a fairly large cross-section which in and of itself is aesthetically unattractive.
A patent of interest from the standpoint of minimizing the size of the headrail is U.S. Pat. No. 2,869,636 which shows a relatively thin headrail having a slot in a rear wall thereof through which each carrier projects and wherein most of the carrier components are disposed outside the headrail. The headrail, while being relatively small, is oval in configuration with the broad side of the oval facing the interior of the room in which the system is mounted so as to undesirably present a relatively large profile.
As will be appreciated, while the prior art includes many different forms of control systems and headrails in which various types of carriers are movably mounted, they each suffer from aesthetic drawbacks related either to the size of the headrail as it is presented to the interior of the room in which the system is mounted or to the visibility of slots provided in the headrail. Further, most prior art systems are noisy in operation rendering them undesirable for that reason as well.
It is to overcome the shortcomings in prior art systems and to provide a new and improved control system that is easy to operate, quiet in operation and aesthetically pleasing that the present invention has been made.